This Conspiracy

Chapter 1

Author stuff: Hey, there!

I decided to repost this after I took some time to... rework some things that I didn't like. You know, almost 3 years after I first posted it. (Started this fic in January 2018, baby!) So, if this seems familiar to a couple of people, that's kind of why.

I originally had over 40 chapters of this written, but I um... I misplaced their location. So. Thankfully, I have a lot of my old notes and the first three chapters. I thought they were all saved on my Google Docs, but apparently they weren't. Which means I'm searching all my old writing and school websites.

Anyway, enjoy this fun mess. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, into the maze we go!

...in the next chapter!

This is dedicated to Jorge, who introduced me to TMR while taking me on a date. Text me, you shank. It's been years since I heard from you. Also, we have things to discuss! Like you being married and having a kid now. WTF is that about? (Congrats, by the way.)

This Conspiracy

PART I - THE TRIO

Chapter 1

In Which The Story Begins With A Tragedy

Marco and his son gently lowered the girl as carefully as they could from the top of the Box. They had seen the guards drop the boy in earlier and it had looked painful — if his groan afterwards was anything to go by. (They'd had to wait behind some of the few sparingly placed crates in the docking room to do so.) They didn't want to risk the chance of injuring the girl, especially with where she was going. Who knew what would happen to an injured girl there?

"We're going to have to let gravity do the rest," Marco said, attempting and failing to gauge the fall. It wasn't that far of a drop, from what he could see, that is. "On three. One, two –"

"Wait," his son said, holding back a grunt as he adjusted his grip on her wrist, "on three, do we drop her, or then count to three and drop her?"

"We don't have the time... On three, we drop her."

"Right, okay."

"One, two, three!"

She fell at a little bit at an angle, which might have spared her a broken leg or ankle. It did result in some minor scrapes on her hands and cheeks. Nothing that she wouldn't be able to handle. Her feet were close to the subject's head, however. Almost too close for comfort.
Unlike the subject lying close to her, she didn't look like a drowned rat – almost all the subjects sent into the Glade (the place they were going) did. But not her. They didn't have time to prepare her like the rest of the organization did. They were forced to work quickly. The doctor in charge of the program and her little "scientists" were bound to notice on their cameras in the Box, if they hadn't before then. Knowing them, they were already on their way.

"Right," his son said, "my swipe –"

"I'll have to do it remotely," Marco said. "Have you picked out a name?"

"Figured I'd go with my own."

"Wouldn't be fair to the other subjects."

"Nothing about these Trials is fair, you know that. If we can find a way to mess them up from the inside for the Right Arm, we'll be okay."

"You'll keep an eye on her, yeah? Think you can remember to do that?"

"So long as it's programmed into my swipe, yeah."

"Listen," Marco said, grabbing his anm, "I know that I don't tell you this very often, but –"

"Don't get all mushy on me now, pops."

Marco gave him a wry smile, bringing a hand up to squeeze his shoulder. He had so much that he wanted to say, and he didn't think he would have much time to say it in.

"You're so very like your mother. She'd be so proud of you."

"Think she'd be proud of –"

"Her? Of course! Why wouldn't she be. Family is family, after all."

"She reminds me of Gramma sometimes."

"It's her smile, I know."

There were calls and clicks from the other side of the door, startling them both. They didn't have much time now. W.I.C.K.E.D. was just outside. And they were going to get in.

"Into the Box," Marco said, forcing his son towards the drop off and darkness.

"Wait, dad. I have to –"

"I'll be fine. I'll take care of your swipe, don't worry. I'll get out of here once you're in. They won't chance hurting one of their precious subjects. And they wouldn't risk hurting her. You know what she means to them."

"W.I.C.K.E.D. won't stop until she's back with them," his son said. "You know that, right?"

"They won't risk pulling her out, not so soon after arriving. Just... In the meantime, protect her with your life."

"What's to stop them from taking control of her?"

"They won't. Not yet. Once she's in, she's in until the Maze is solved. Paige wouldn't risk it. It would disrupt her whole grand plan. Now, in!"

He forced his son down. He heard him land and give out a cry, wincing at the sound. He closed the hole in the Box, locking it to ensure that no harm would come to its recently made inhabitants.

All three of them – his son, the girl, and the subject – were immune. And all of them had undergone the surgery for the swipes when they were quite young, the same age as all of the others. Standard procedure, he'd been told but he didn't believe them. There was very little that saved his son and the girl from being pawns in W.I.C.K.E.D.'s games before, but drastic times call for drastic measures. W.I.C.K.E.D. always got what they wanted, in the end.

And so it was now or never.

He pulled out his workpad, pressing the holographic buttons to program his son's swipe. He wanted to keep his original name, fine with him. But he had so little time to program the little device to do what he wanted, erasing W.I.C.K.E.D.'s programming as he did.

The door was forced open and in swarmed W.I.C.K.E.D.'s battle ready soldiers, guns at the ready to shoot and kill, if necessary. Paige was behind them. He could see the white of her suit through the sea of black and gray.

"Dr. Havensbee," she said over the soldiers, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Saving my ass, Paige," he said, flicking his eyes from the soldiers to the workpad, the little loading bar moving too slowly for his liking. "We both know how much all those kids mean to you."

"And we both know how much those kids mean to you, Marco. Sending in your own son and Flossy? Is that really fair? To her? To Verena? Marco, think of everything she's already gone through."

"Her mind's already been swiped. She won't remember any of it. The kids will be fine. Flossy's a good kid. She'll stay in the Glade, just like she's told. She's not like the boys."

"And what if the Grievers get in?" Paige said, pushing her way to the front. It was a desperate plea to try and get him on her side. Everyone knew of Flossy's fear of the Grievers.

Marco swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat.

"Let's just hope that the ones who've already gone through the Changeing keep an eye on her then," Marco said.

Paige's frown deepened, but she made no move or order to get to the three in the Box. After a moment, her voice rang out, her manicured finger pointed at him.

"Arrest him," she said, "and send him to the Pits."

The swipe never got past 79%.

Author stuff cont'd.: What am I listening to? Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast

You can find me on tumblr at forgottenyogurtgods.